New World Order
Vince McMahon brought in Hogan, Hall and Nash, the original nWo, at No Way Out 2002. In this storyline, the nWo was brought in as McMahon's hired thugs in an attempt to "kill" the WWF so that McMahon would not have to share power with new WWF "co-owner" Ric Flair. They began by targeting the company's two biggest stars, Steve Austin and The Rock. Hogan left the group after he lost his WrestleMania X8 match with the Rock and was assaulted after that match by Hall and Nash. Hogan's comeback to the WWF after 8 years had fans cheering him, even though he was a heel. As a result, he turned face and began feuding with Hall and Nash, with The Rock, Kane and Bradshaw at his side on occasion. Hall and Nash then brought in two former nWo members, X-Pac, on March 21, 2002, edition of SmackDown! in Ottowa, Ontario and The Big Show, on the April 22 edition of Raw. The nWo reunion in the WWF did not last long, however. During an attack on Bradshaw, Kevin Nash injured his biceps and was put out of action for several months. Meanwhile, Hall asked for his release from WWE in May 2002, because he was in the middle of a custody dispute with his ex-wife over their two children, according to Nash (Nash made that statement during media promotions in Detroit for Vengeance 2002). This dispute led to Hall getting drunk on an airline flight back from the U.K. and getting into an altercation. Upon returning to the United States, Hall was immediately fired. Flair became a semi-member of the nWo after turning on Stone Cold Steve Austin. As owner of Raw, Flair set up a lumberjack match with Austin against the newest member of the nWo, which turned out to be Booker T. Booker had just finished a silly skit with Goldust minutes earlier, where he had been wearing a lumberjack costume and fake beard, all but destroying his "tough" momentum going into the match. Nash introduced Shawn Michaels into the nWo on June 3 edition of Raw. Michaels then literally superkicked Booker out of the nWo one week later. Michaels, then in the midst of a four-year retirement from pro wrestling, would be the first nWo member who had never wrestled in WCW. Michaels and Nash then would set their sights on recruiting Triple H (by using threats and demands) into the nWo, implying that they would re-create on-screen their old backstage group The Kliq. This storyline was ultimately never resolved, as Nash suffered a torn quadriceps tendon that forced him to miss an extended period of time. Afterwards, the nWo storyline was permanently abandoned and the remaining members drifted apart. Michaels went on to return to active competition within weeks, Big Show was eventually traded to SmackDown, and X-Pac was released from his contract. On July 8, Kevin Nash returned to action on Raw, teaming up with Eddie Guerrero, X-Pac, the Big Show, and Chris Benoit to take on Booker T, Goldust, Bubba Ray Dudley, Spike Dudley, and Rob Van Dam. Seconds after tagging in for the first time, Nash tore his quadriceps after delivering a big boot onto Booker T, immediately putting him back on the injured list. On the following Raw (July 15), Vince McMahon came out to the ring to the entrance of the nWo and made the announcement that the group was officially disbanded as Eric Bischoff became Raw General Manager. This marked the last time that the nWo was seen on WWE programming, apart from later mentions in promos and DVD releases. However, the nWo logo did inspire future t-shirt designs for later WWE talent, most famously by Randy Orton, who wore a t-shirt with his finishing move & initials "rKo" in the classic nWo logo design. Then-NXT contestant Michael Tarver also wore a similar nWo-inspired shirt in 2010, with "nXt" in place of "nWo" in that shirt's design. On August 11, 2014, to celebrate Hulk Hogan's birthday, specials guests arrived to be with him on it. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, two of the original members of the nWo shared a moment with Hogan revealing a hidden nWo shirt hidden under his '80s Hulkamania style shirt. They were interrupted by Brock Lesnar but before anything happened, John Cena, Lesnar's opponent at SummerSlam, came to stop him. Lesnar slowly backed out of the ring, ending the confrontation. On January 19, 2015, original members X-Pac, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash came out for Scott Hall's famous survey segment. They were interrupted by The Ascension, who were beaten down by the nWo, the APA, and the New Age Outlaws. This solidified the members of the original nWo as faces for the first time since their formation in 1996.Category:Tag Team